Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

I am aware of the issues the Deputy has raised on the bus connections from Athenry to Galway. I believe a private operator was doing it but it was pulled. Basically I do not disagree with anything the Deputy is saying. It is important first of all that we look at the immediate steps we can take to start improving things, such as the provision of additional carriages and the installation of a passing loop in Oranmore. Double tracking is a more medium- to long-term project. It is part of the all-island rail review that I will be looking at. I am charged with the delivery of that rail review. We have lots of exciting projects on that. We need to just get them prioritised and get those done quickly that can be done quickly. We need to plan for doing the others in a way that ensures there is continuous work. There is no doubt that if we provide the infrastructure for public transport, people will use it. The fares are reasonable. All the time we are trying to get young people to think "If I am going someplace, I will go on a bus or a train". If people are living close to a train station, they do not need a car. We need to look at the planning framework for that as well.

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